Various systems for motor vehicles have been developed for estimating the outside ambient temperature. Present systems may utilize an algorithm that waits for either cool engine coolant temperatures, or for the motor vehicle to be above a certain speed for a set amount of time. Once either of these are accomplished, readings from the outside ambient temperature sensor are read and used. However, determining the outside ambient temperature utilizing this type of system may require a substantial length of time before accurate ambient temperature measurements can be determined, or the temperature estimates may be inaccurate. These systems can be especially problematic if a vehicle is driving in a city environment, and it is not maintaining speed for long amounts of time. In this case, the ambient temperature might never update, even if it is actually changing, leading to decreased performance in climate controls as well as an inaccurate value being displayed to the vehicle occupants.